


The Five Times Marinette Won Ultimate Mecha Strike III And The One Time She Didn't

by SilverMoonSky



Series: Adrinette April 2020 [10]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, Adrinette April 2020, Dorks in Love, F/M, Fluff, Identity Reveal, Oblivious Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Some angst, lots and lots and lots of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:13:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23605114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverMoonSky/pseuds/SilverMoonSky
Summary: Adrien continues to lose to Marinette whenever they play Ultimate Mecha Strike III throughout the ups and downs of their relationship. . . . until the day he finally doesn't.Written for Day 11: Video Games for Adrinette April.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Series: Adrinette April 2020 [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1685854
Comments: 10
Kudos: 274





	The Five Times Marinette Won Ultimate Mecha Strike III And The One Time She Didn't

The first time Adrien played Ultimate Mecha Strike against Marinette, he’d been absolutely _crushed._

Actually, no. That would be an understatement.

He’d been _pulverized._ He was grateful that at the time, he was supposed to be playing _with_ her and not as her opponent. He could only imagine the fate of the school’s winning streak if that had been the case.

The second time, however, Adrien was not as lucky.

“Come on, dude! You need to try and beat Mari!” Nino exclaimed.

The two of them, along with Marinette and Alya, were in his room. After months of begging his father to let them come over, he’d finally succeeded, and now the four of them were huddled up in his room, ready to start yet another game of Ultimate Mecha Strike III. Normally, Adrien, Adrien who-was-also-freaking-Chat-Noir Agreste, was not one to back down from a challenge. But this involved Marinette. Marinette, who was usually a stumbling, stuttering mess, who managed to kick his butt in this game months earlier. There was no doubt she’d be able to do the same now.

Adrien opened his mouth, ready to decline the offer, when Marinette spoke up, a steely glint in her eyes. Her lips quirked into a smirk as she stared him up and down. He gulped. There was something about her aura that unsettled him.

She clutched the controller with one hand, grinning. “Ready to lose, sunshine?”

He gaped at her. Was this really the same sweet, innocent girl that sat behind him in class? Since when was Marinette so. . . . savage?

(As it turned out, she was only this way when it came to video games. Just his luck.)

Well, there was no way he could turn down that challenge, could he?

Adrien held his hand out. “Hand me the controller, Nino.”

The two of them sat down. Alya had whipped out her phone, ready to record their match. In the end, unsurprisingly, Adrien lost. But it wasn’t entirely a forgotten cause. After all, he got to play with his good friend Marinette!

Adrien turned to her as she was doing her victory dance, putting his hand on her shoulder to congratulate her. Immediately Marinette yelped and jumped several feet away from him, startled.

“I--I’m sorry!” She stammered out. All the composure she’d had during their match was now gone.

“It’s okay,” Adrien said. “I just wanted to say congratulations. For winning.”

Marinette’s cheeks burned red. “Thanks. You well Adrien too--I mean! Adrien! You did well too! No, I meant--”

As she continued to babble out noncoherent sentences, Adrien saw Alya and Nino exchange a look from the corner of his eyes. He raised his eyebrows at them. They ignored him, looking at each other once again. Adrien was almost sure he saw Alya mouth, “they’re made for one another.”

He wondered what that meant.

The third time was just him and Marinette. Alya and Nino had a date night, and, with them having nothing else to do, they agreed to meet at her place and spend some time together. Which of course, turned into a battle of Ultimate Mecha Strike III.

Adrien groaned. “You know I never win against you.”

“I’ll go easy on you,” Marinette said, but the smirk on her face said otherwise.

Over a year after their first gaming experience, she and Adrien had gotten pretty close. Enough so that Marinette was actually able to string sentences around him. He was delighted. He was glad she was finally comfortable around him, and now--according to the rest of the class--the two of them were always hanging out and joking around, nearly inseparable.

“Are you and Mari going out yet?” His classmates would ask him as soon as Marinette left the room.

“We’re just friends,” Adrien would protest.

“Keep believing that, sunshine,” Alya would say, a knowing look on her face as she’d turn away, leaving him to be left with feelings he couldn’t quite comprehend.

It was all too confusing.

“Your ‘easy’ still is too much,” he said.

She smiled, sitting down in front of her computer and grabbing a controller. “I didn’t think you were a quitter, Agreste.”

“I--” He cut himself off. There was no point in arguing. He sighed. “Fine. But don’t blame me when you inevitably end up kicking my butt.”

Marinette’s laughter rang through his ears, and he couldn’t help but feel a certain warmth spreading all throughout his body. So he took a controller and sat beside her, the lucky charm she’d given him in his pocket (though in the end it didn’t do anything; she still won).

 _This feels nice,_ he thought as the two of them sat back once they’d finished the match, exchanging pleasantries. _It would be great if this feeling could last forever._

The fourth time they played was under entirely different circumstances. Chat Noir had visited Marinette, desperately wanting her company, but unable to call her up as Adrien. It was nearly midnight when he’d landed on her balcony. Marinette had been getting ready for bed after finishing up a commission, but taking one look at Chat’s bedraggled state, she let him in, resigning herself to yet another sleepless night.

 _It’s my father_ , Chat wanted to choke out. _I can’t stand him and I hate it but there’s nothing I can do about it, and there are so many other things on my mind and I’m drowning, I just want--_

Even though he couldn’t tell her his struggles, Marinette kept his spirits up. After consoling him, she challenged him to yet another video game tournament. And how could he say no?

Somewhere along the line, his feelings had shifted. Somehow, he was now falling for the sweet, shy girl in front of him. Their everyday Ladybug. And he didn’t care at all.

“You’re _amazing_ Marinette,” Chat Noir murmured as she’d lazily brushed his hair once their tournament was over--she won, obviously--with his head on her lap.

Unbeknownst to him, Marinette blushed, whispering, “you’re wonderful too, my prince,” as he drifted off into sleep.

The fifth time was after the reveal. After Adrien had figured out Marinette was none other than Ladybug, and after Marinette had figured out Adrien was her superhero partner, Chat Noir. If they’d been close before, it now skyrocketed.

Inside jokes, more puns than ever before, the nicknames. . . . it was _beautiful._ Sometimes, Adrien wanted to cry happy tears, because their relationship was _perfect._ It was more than he ever could’ve asked for. No, they weren’t dating yet, but that was fine by him. They would take things slow, because they knew they were made for one another. It wouldn’t be long before they would finally be together.

But still, no matter how much closer Adrien was to Marinette now, he _still_ couldn’t beat her at Ultimate Mecha Strike III.

“Are you still trying, _chaton_?” Marinette asked as they sat shoulder to shoulder at her desktop.

“I’m a hard worker, bugaboo. Don’t underestimate me.”

Marinette would just roll her eyes affectionately at him and mutter, “we’ll see.”

He still didn’t win.

But the day did finally come. Nearly four years after the first time, during the sixth time the two of them sat down, ready to play the game, Adrien finally beat her.

“Told you so!” Adrien said, sticking his tongue out at her. He was giddy with excitement, doing a victory dance around the room. “I told you I’d beat you someday.”

Marinette reached over and pulled him down next to her, ruffling his hair. “Four years later, kitty. That’s a long time, don’t you think?”

His eyes softened. Adrien took Marinette’s hand in his and gently pressed a kiss against the back of it. “It’s as long as I’ve loved you,” he murmured, “and I don’t think four years is nearly long enough.”

She smiled at him, pulling him closer and capturing his lips with hers. He closed his eyes and let himself melt into it.

It had taken four years for him to finally beat Marinette at Ultimate Mecha Strike III. Four, long years. But he was willing to spend that time losing to her over and over again if it meant staying by her side.


End file.
